15 Dec 2016

After 40 days and 2 lenses used so far, I decided to change to a new lens that covered new focal lengths, one that would offer me possibilities I did not have before, going long for the first time to try new approaches, so I switched to the telephoto zoom Lumix 35-100mm, a lens I had not used in quite some time and that I hoped would allow me to see things in a different way from the previous shorter lenses.

Day 41, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 41b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 41c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 41d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Recently I realised that I had started taking more pictures every day and I was relying more and more on the motto "later I will find out the best one in the computer", but this approach didn't really work, for I spent more time in front of the computer than in the market taking pictures, so I promised myself to follow a new motto from then onwards: shoot less and more carefully and keep post-processing to a minimum.

Day 42, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 42b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 42c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 42d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 42e, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

It's funny how people approached me more and more filled with curiosity as days passed and started asking me questions about why I was going there every day, what were my intentions and making small talk with me to have an insight into my motivations. The development of my relation with the vendors has followed a very interesting pattern: from disinterest to mild curiosity to open nosiness. We will see where we go from here on!

Day 43, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 43b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 43c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 43d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Having a longer lens allowed me to try some new things I hadn't practiced before, such as a more conventional portraiture with shallower depth of field, or focusing on smaller or more distant objects that were out of my reach before, and it was interesting to discover corners and details that had passed unnoticed to me in the previous 40 days. Even in a relatively small place such as this market there are always new things to find out, and this keep things fresh despite the repetition and limitations.

Day 44, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 44b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 44c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 44d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Even having a new lens and despite the different perspectives that it brought to the table, I felt a bit bored for the first time, a bit worn-out, and a feeling of "I have seen it all already" started to appear for the first time. I had the impression that I was starting to repeat things and that I was not able to find new scenes in each of my visits, and at times this brought my motivation a bit down, but I never let that spoil my mood and I continued ahead nevertheless, trying my best each time.

Day 45, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 45b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 45c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 45d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 45e, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 45f, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

New themes continue to arise organically during my visits, and the latest addition has been textures, details that convey the pass of time and the past life of the market through the stains that are left behind.

Day 46, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 46b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 46c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 46d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Not only the vendors of the market started showing me their curiosity more openly, buy they also started posing for me and even asking me to take their pictures, checking them afterwards, shaking my hands, requesting me to pause my walks to eat with them in casual conversations. One tip that I learnt through my interactions with people during this project: engage with people whenever you have the chance to get a better understanding of them and to establish a bond that will bring more soul to your images, but at the same time stay longer and eventually they will go back to their normal chores, ignoring you, which will give you the chance to capture them candidly again.

Day 47, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 47b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 47c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 47d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 47e, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 47f, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 47g, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

From a technical point of view, I shot in fully manual more and more often and this made me get more comfortable using manual with the help of the histogram, and I can consider this as a personal victory already, since it was one of the goals I set myself at the beginning of the project: learning new things and getting more proficient with the camera.

Day 48, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 48b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 48c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 48d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 48e, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

These last 10 days the number of pictures I have shot have ranged between 64-109; I didn't have any day with a very high number but I didn't have days with few images either, they have stayed quite consistent.

Day 49, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 49b, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 49c, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

Day 49d, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 35-100mm

I mentioned before that, for the first time, I felt I was starting to repeat myself and everyday was harder to find new scenes and arrangements to shoot, but that did not discourage me and I continued visiting the market almost on a daily basis; I only skipped 2 days in total so, despite everything, half-way through the project, the pace has continued advancing at full speed and hopefully I have energy enough for the remaining 50 days!